Since she was a child, Princess Radia has known the pain of every living creature as intimately as her own. Now, her empathic power may cost her her life.
Radia is the 54th descendant of the Zo and heir to the throne of Tyrnael. But at 15 years of age, she is innocent to the cruel realities of her world. Possessed by the innocence of youth, her idealism soon clashes with the machinations of her stepbrother, Zaibos, a cold and ruthless commander who insists that the future of their people can only be preserved through bloody conflict.
When Zaibos seizes control of the capital city of Tyrnael, Radia is forced to flee for her life. Betrayed by those she most trusted to protect her, she finds unexpected loyalty in Demacharon, an old sword from Hedonia. But neither Demacharon, her adopted brother, nor Radia herself fully realize her importance to the future of Aenya.
Appearances: The Princess of Aenya.
Like all eight-year-old boys of Hedonian citizenry, Demacharon is taken from his mother’s arms to train in the navy and, for the next ten years, is taught how to kill more efficiently. After a number of naval victories, he is promoted to Regent Commander and charged with the subjugation of the tribal peoples of the northwest. After two decades of campaigning, Demacharon is permitted to take a wife. The honeymoon is short-lived, however, as he is sent out again and again to expand the Empire's territories.
Far from the One Sea, his legions meet with increased resistance. Less than half his men, a mere nine thousand, return to Hedonia after a year-long campaign. In the city, he is heralded a hero, given lands and titles, but the ghosts of his friends and enemies continue to haunt his dreams, and with the birth of his only child, Astor, he begins to doubt the creed of his nation. Does he desire such a life for his son? And how can he justify the murder of barbarian children, knowing what it means to be a father? Soon after his return home, five-year-old Astor is killed on the beach by merquid, at which point his wife, Niobe, is overcome by despair. Having lost the only two things that meant anything to him, Demacharon becomes disillusioned, a broken man in search of redemption.
Appearances: Ages of Aenya, The Princess of Aenya.
Ecthros's fondest memories involve watching his father, Xenox, performing remarkable feats of accuracy with bow and arrow. When Xenox leaves on an urgent summons, never to return, six-year-old Ecthros practices relentlessly with his bow in the hope of making his father proud.
In his formative years, Ecthros's mother succumbs to illness, and the orphaned boy is taken under the wing of his uncle, Davos. Aboard Davos's airship, the Cloud Breaker, he visits every port along the Potamis River until reaching the Crown of Aenya Mountains, where he and his uncle become the first outsiders to set foot in the mythical kingdom of Tyrnael.
Gazing upon her beauty, Ecthros is smitten by Radia, the Princess of Aenya, but when she ascends the throne of Tyrnael, he abandons the kingdom in search of his other uncle, Davor, in the coastal town of Graton. There, he meets Lilliea and Rose, two young girls who lose their father to a magic doorway. To help them find and rescue him, the young archer joins their caravan as they cross the Great White Flat into the fabled Oasis City of Shemselinihar, where a second gate is purported to exist.
Appearances: The Princess of Aenya, The Magiq of Aenya